

ELEMENTARY ENGLISH \1 

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G^' GREF ^i2. 




PHILADELPHIA. 

T.H.Butler & Co, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



fflpji- Gomms&t'Qn.- 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



BiisraH^M's 



ELEMENTARY 

ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO 

BINGHAM'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 



# 



G. W. GREENE, 

Principal of Moravian- Falls Academy, Wilkes Co., N. C. 



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10 JLiU. 



Ik.k.Q. 

PHILADELPHIA : 

T. H. BUTLER & CO. 

1881. 



3* 






Copyright, 

T. H. BUTLER & CO. 

1881. 



Westcott & Thomson, Sherman & Co., 

Stereotype™ and Electrotype™, Philada. Printers, Philada. 



PREFACE. 



For several years I have taught Bingham's English 
Grammar with great satisfaction, but have often regretted 
that its learned author was not spared to prepare a work 
suitable for beginners. The following little book is the 
result of an attempt to supply this want for my own classes. 
The work lays no claim to originality. Definitions, rules, 
and exercises have been freely taken from Bingham's 
Grammar, and a few sentences from other works. Nor 
is it intended to include in this brief compass a thorough 
course in Grammar. It is simply an introduction to the 
very thorough work of Bingham, and contains only the 
simplest principles of English Grammar. It is thought 
that all the contents of this book can easily be understood 
by beginners in this study. Hoping that it may in some 
measure lessen the work of teachers and scholars who are 
already using Bingham's Grammar, and perhaps help to 
introduce to others a work so meritorious, I give this to 
the public. 

Moravian Falls Academy, 
Wilkes Co., N. C, April, 1881. 



CONTENTS. 



Lesson Page 

I. — Letters, Words, and Sentences 7 

II. — Words — Parts of Speech 9 

III.— Nouns 9 

IV. — Kinds of Nouns 10 

V.— Gender 12 

VI. — Person 14 

VII. — Number 14 

VIII.— Case 15 

IX. — Sentences 16 

X. — Subject and Predicate 16 

XI.— Subject — Nominative Case 17 

XII. — Limiters 18 

XIIL— The Genitive 19 

XIV. — The Direct Object — The Accusative .... 21 

XV. — Adjectives 22 

XVI. — Adjectives limiting Nouns 24 

XVII. — Adjectives in the Predicate 24 

XVIII.— Pronouns 25 

XIX.— Declension of I 27 

XX.— Declension of THOU 28 

XXL— Declension of HE 29 

XXII.— Declension of SHE 30 

XXriI.— Declension of IT 30 

XXIV.— The Dative 31 

XXV.— Verbs 32 

XXVI. — Voice, Mood, Tense, Number, and Person . . 34 

XXVI L— Conjugation— TO BE 34 

XXVIII.— Parsing the Verb 35 

1* 5 



b CONTENTS. 

Lesson Page 

XXIX.— Verb TO BE (continued) 36 

XXX.— " " " 36 

XXXI.— " " " 37 

XXXII. — Predicate Nominative 37 

XXXIII.— Verb TO LOVE 38 

XXXIV.— Other Verbs 40 

XXXV. — Exercise on Active Voice 40 

XXXVL— Passive Voice . 41 

XXXVII. — Exercise on Passive Voice 42 

XXXVIIL— Progressive Form 43 

XXXIX. — Emphatic and Interrogative Forms ... 44 

XL. — Adverbs 46 

XL I.— Prepositions — Adjuncts 47 

XLII. — Adjectives Used as Nouns 50 

XLIII. — Compound Personal Pronouns 51 

XLI V.— Apposition 51 

XLV. — Conjunctions 52 

XL VI. — Interjections — The Vocative 54 

XLVIL — The Old Man at the Castle 55 

XLVIIL— Geography 55 

XLIX. — Charity Dove 56 

L. — Genius 57 

LI. — The Cherokee Alphabet 59 

LIL— The Gale 60 

LIU. — The Missionaries 61 

LIV.— Landing of the Pilgrims 62 



bingham's 
Elementary English Grammar. 



LESSON I. 

Letters, Words, and Sentences. 

When we open a book to read, we see a great many- 
little marks of various shapes and sizes. These little 
marks are called Letters. 

These letters are not all printed together, nor are they 
the same distance apart. Sometimes we find one letter 
standing by itself, and sometimes two or three standing 
together, and again we find as many as ten or more all 
together, while the rest are separated from them by a 
little space. These groups or bunches of letters are called 
Words. 

When we begin to read, we find that a number of 
words are put together to tell something. Words thus 
put together make a Sentence. 

When we study about these things, we are said to study 

Grammar. 

r 



8 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Grammar tells us — 

1st. About Letters. 
2d. About Words. 
3d. About Sentences. 

Grammar tells us how to put letters together to 
make words, and how to put words together to make 
sentences. 

Although it takes many thousands of letters to make a 
book, yet only twenty-six different characters or murks 
are used. 

There are two ways of writing each one of these letters. 
When written large, they are called Capitals ; other- 
wise, they are called small letters. 

When these letters are given in a certain order, they 
are called the Alphabet. 

Here is the alphabet, first in capitals and then in small 
letters : 

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, K, O, 
P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. 

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, 1, m, n, o, p, q, r, 
s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z. 

Of these letters, three are sometimes used as words — 
a, I, and O. I and O when used as words must always 
be capitals. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 9 

LESSON II. 

Words. — Parts of Speech. 

The first part of what Grammar teaches is how to put 
letters together to make words. But this we can learn 
better from our Readers, Spelling-Books, and Dictionaries. 
In Grammars we study mainly about words, and how to 
put them together to make sentences. 

Words are divided into eight classes, called 

PAETS OF SPEECH. 

1. Xoun. 

2. Adjective. 

3. Pronoun. 

4. Verb. 

5. Adverb. 

6. Preposition. 

7. Conjunction. 

8. Interjection. 



LESSON III. 
Nouns. 

A Noun is the Name of a Thing-. 

Everything that men know about or think about has 
a name, and every name is a noun. 

Give the names of five things which you see. 



10 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Give the names of five things which you have seen, 
but do not see now. 

Give the names of five things which you never have 
seen, but have heard of. 

All these names are nouns. 

Is tree a noun? Why? Is dog a noun? Why? Is 
it the name of a thing? Is man a noun? Is man the 
name of a thing? What sort of a thing? 

Now turn to the exercise at the end of Lesson IV. and 
find all the nouns. 



LESSON IV. 

Kinds of Nouns, 

Sometimes we find one name that will do for a great 
many things of a certain kind. The word' house is a 
name that is given to a great many things of a certain 
kind. Is the word boy the name of one thing or of many? 
When several things of one kind have the same name, 
they are said to form a class, and the name which is 
given to one of these things in a class, or to them all, 
is called a Common Noun. 

But some names belong only to one thing. When I 
say, " I went to London," I mean only one city. When 
I call Bettie, I want only one girl. When I speak of 
George Washington, I am not talking of many men, but 
of only one. These names which mean only one indi- 
vidual thing are called Proper Nouns. 

Sometimes we see several things of one kind put together 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 11 

to make one thing of another kind. It takes many sol- 
diers to make one army. A class in school may have 
several students in it. The names of these things which 
mean only one thing of one sort, and yet are made up 
of several things of another sort, are called Collective 
Nouns. They are also Common Nouns. 

We use some things to make other things. We make 
flour out of wheat, and bread out of flour. We make 
many things out of wood. The names of these things are 
called Material Nouns. 

There is another class of nouns, called Abstract 
Nouns. I will not try to explain these to you now, 
but will give you some examples. The following are 
Abstract Nouns : happiness, goodness, love, anger, pride, 
beauty. 

Thus we see there are five kinds of nouns : 

1. Common Nouns. 

2. Proper Nouns. 

3. Collective Nouns. 

4. Material Nouns. 

5. Abstract Nouns. 

Now learn the definitions of the different kinds of 
nouns : 

1. A Common Noun is the name of one of a class 
of things. 

2. A Proper Noun is the name of an individual 
thing. 



12 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

3. A Collective Noun is a Common Noun which in 
the singular includes more than one. 

4. A Material Noun is the name of a substance or 
material. 

5. An Abstract Noun is the name of a quality, an 
action, or a being. 

In the following exercise point out the nouns, and tell 
what kind of nouns they are : 

EXERCISE. 

George Washington w T as the first President of the United 
States. My father is a farmer, John's father is a merchant. 
The carpenters make many things out of wood. There 
are three eggs in the hen's nest. Boys love to ride horses. 
James brought some flour from the store. Bakers bake 
bread and cakes. My class is studying grammar. I saw 
a crowd of men in the street. Boys often do much mis- 
chief when at play in the house. Their balls sometimes 
break the glass in the windows, but they have much fun. 
They make much noise too. 



LESSON V. 

Gender. 

In referring to a boy, we say he, his, him ; in referring 
to a girl, w T e say she, hers, her ; in referring to an apple, 
we say it, its ; and in referring to one child, we say he, 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 13 

his, him ; while in referring to another, we say she, hers, her. 
We say of a boy, "He loves his mother ;" of a girl, " She 
loves her mother ;" of an apple, " It fell from its place in 
the tree ;' ; but of one child we say, " He is sick," and of 
another we say, " She has got well." He refers to a male 
being ; she, to a female being ; it, to a thing that is neither 
male nor female. 

The difference between male beings and female beings 
is called a difference of sex. There are only two sexes, 
but, as may be seen from what is said above, nouns when 
considered with reference to sex are divided into four 
classes. Some nouns are the names of male beings ; some 
are the names of female beings ; some are the names of 
things that are neither male nor female ; and still other 
names include both males and females. In Grammar 
these four classes of nouns with reference to sex are 
called Genders. 

1. Masculine Gender. 

2. Feminine Gender. 

3. Neuter Gender. 

4. Common Gender. 

The names of males are of the Masculine Gender. 

The names of females are of the Feminine Gender. 

The names of those things which are neither male 
nor female are of the Neuter Gender. 

The names which include both males and females 
are of the Common Gender. 

Now turn back to the exercise at the end of the last 
lesson aud tell the Gender of all the nouns. 

2 



14 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON VI. 

Person. 

Whenever anything is said, three persons are con- 
cerned — the person speaking, the person spoken to, and 
the person or thing spoken about. Sometimes we speak 
about a thing, and occasionally we speak to a thing. 
But as the speaker is always a person, and the one 
spoken to is generally a person, and frequently the one 
spoken about is a person, we say there are in Grammar 
three Persons. 

They are called the First Person, the Second 
Person, and the Third Person. 

The one w r ho speaks is the First Person. 
The one spoken to is the Second Person. 
The one spoken about is the Third Person. 

Nouns are not often of the first person, because the 
speaker does not often mention his own name. But he 
sometimes calls the name of the one to whom he is speak- 
ing, and then we have a noun of the second person. But 
most nouns are of the third person. 



LESSON VII. 

Number. 

If you say, " Give me that book," you want only one 
book. If you say, " Give me those books," you want more 
books than one. So we see that a noun sometimes means 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 15 

only one thing, and sometimes more than one. This differ- 
ence in the meaning of nouns is called Number. 

There are two Numbers — 

1. The Singular Number. 

2. The Plural Number. 

The Singular Number means only one. 
The Plural Number means more than one. 

Now turn back to the exercise at the end of Lesson 
IV., and, in addition to what you have already told about 
the nouns, tell their person and number. 



LESSON VIII. 

Case. 

There are five Cases — 

1. Nominative. 

2. Genitive. 

3. Dative. 

4. Accusative. 

5. Vocative. 

Hereafter we shall try to learn the meaning of all these, 
so that we can tell what is the case of a noun. 



16 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON IX. 

Sentences* 

We have already learned that Grammar teaches us 
how to put words together to form sentences. 

A Sentence is a number of words so put together as 
to tell something or to ask a question. 

" Birds sing " is a sentence, because it tells something. 
" Do you know your lesson ?" is a sentence, because it asks 
a question. 

" A good boy." Is that a sentence ? Does it tell any- 
thing or ask a question ? 

Make three sentences that tell something and three that 
ask questions. 



LESSON X. 

Subject and Predicate. 

As a sentence tells something or asks a question, of 
course it must tell or ask about something. That which 
the sentence tells about or asks about is called the 
Subject. That which it tells or asks about the* sub- 
ject is called the Predicate. 

Every Sentence must have — 

1. A Subject. 

2. A Predicate. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 17 

The Subject is that about which something is told. 
The Predicate is that which is told of the subject. 

In the sentence, " Birds sing," birds is the subject, be- 
cause something is told about it ; sing is the predicate, 
because it tells something about the subject. 



LESSON XI. 

The Subject. — Nominative Case. 

The subject of a sentence is a noun or some word or 
phrase used as a noun. It is always in the Nominative 
Case. 

Mule of Syntax. — The subject of a finite verb is in 
the nominative. 

In the following exercise analyze each sentence, telling 
what is its subject and what its predicate. Then parse 
the subjects, telling what sort of nouns they are, giving 
the gender, person, number, and case, and close by re- 
peating the Rule of Syntax. 

Model. — " Birds sing." 
Birds is the subject. Sing is the predicate. 
Birds is a common noun, common gender, third person, 

plural number, and in the nominative case, because it is 

the subject of sing. 



18 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Rule. — " The subject of a finite verb is in the nomina- 
tive." 

EXERCISE. 

Water runs. Grass grows. Fire burns. Winds blow. 
Gold glitters. Stars twinkle. Fishes swim. John writes. 
Soldiers march. Children sing. Boys play. Kain falls. 
Snow melts. Smoke rises. Dogs bark. Armies fight. 
Jesus wept. Kings rule. Citizens vote. Eagles fly. 
Pupils learn. Snakes bite. Mr. Brown left. Mr. Smith 
remained. Carlo barks. 



LESSON XII. 

Lim iters. 

Sometimes the subject and predicate stand alone, being 
the only words in the sentence ; as, " Birds sing." But 
generally there are other words along with the subject 
and predicate. These other words are said to be limiters 
of the subject or predicate. They limit the meaning of 
the subject or predicate by making it narrower than it 
would be without these words. Taking the above sen- 
tence, we may have the subject " birds " limited by 
"these." " These birds sing." Here the meaning of 
" birds " is limited ; that is, " these birds " does not mean 
as much as " birds " alone. I do not mean all birds, but 
these birds about which I am now talking. "Birds " may 
still further be limited by a word which tells what kind 
of birds is meant. " These little birds sing." So we may 
use a word to limit the predicate, and tell how they sing. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 19 

" These little birds sing sweetly." This limits the mean- 
ing to one particular kind of singing. And then this 
word " sweetly " may itself be limited by another word : 
"These little birds sing very sweetly." 

So we see that all the words of a sentence are joined to 
the subject or predicate. We have words directly limit- 
ing the subject and predicate, and then words limiting 
these limiters. 

When we analyze a sentence, we first tell the subject, 
then the predicate, and then the words which limit the 
subject and predicate. If any of these limiters are limited 
by other words, we mention them also. 

Model. — " This boy lost his brother's ball." 

Boy is the subject. Lost is the predicate. The subject 
is limited by this. The predicate is limited by ball, and 
ball is limited by brother's, and brother's is limited by his. 

In like manner analyze the following sentences and 
parse the subjects. 

EXERCISE. 

Cold winds blow keenly. Your children sing sweetly. 
The hungry dog barked suddenly. Leaves fall down. 
The bright stars twinkle. The old wooden clock always 
ticks loudly. Most boys love play. Some boys love their 
books. 



LESSON XIII. 

The Genitive. 

Analyze the sentence, "James's horse stumbles." 
You say the subject "horse" is limited by "James's." 



20 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

This word tells whose horse is meant. Here, then, we 
have one noun limiting another noun. "James's" is a 
noun, and limits the noun " horse," and the two nouns do 
not mean the same thing. When one noun limits another 
noun, and the two nouns do not mean the same thing, the 
noun which limits the other is said to be in the Geni- 
tive Case. 

Rule of Syntax. — A noun which limits another noun 
meaning a different thing is in the genitive. 

By this rule we can always know a noun in the genitive. 
If it limits another noun meaning something else, it is in 
the genitive. 

When you see the word you may know the genitive by 
an apostrophe ( 9 ) either before or after the final s. And 
the genitive tells whose a thing is. 

Now analyze the following sentences, and parse the 
genitives and subjects : 

Model. — " James's horse stumbles." 

James's is a proper noun, masculine gender, third per- 
son, singular number, and in the genitive case, because it 
limits horse. 

Rule. — " A noun which limits another noun meaning a 
different thing is in the genitive." 

EXERCISE. 
The farmer's dogs bark. The queen's daughter sings. 
This man's wheat grows. Mr. Jones's ' horse died. This 
lady's sons learn. John's hand trembles. Mary's head 
aches. A boy's foot slipped. The bird's nest fell. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 21 

LESSON XIV. 

The Direct Object. — The Accusative. 

The word in a sentence that tells what the subject is 
or does is a verb. Every sentence has a verb as a part or 
the whole of its predicate. After a while we are to have 
a number of lessons about the verb. But now we must 
study a little about the verb, that we may understand 
some other things. 

Sometimes when we give only the subject and predicate 
the meaning is complete, and we do not look for anything 
else. " Grass grows." Here the meaning is complete, 
and we do not look for any more words. But if I say, 
" Thomas lost," you are not satisfied until I go on and 
tell you what he lost. When I say, " Thomas lost John's 
ball," you are satisfied. 

These w^ords, which require some word to make the sense 
complete, are called transitive verbs. The word which is* 
used to complete the meaning of a transitive verb is called 
its Direct Object. It is always in the accu- 
sative case. 

Rule of Syntax. — The direct object of a transitive 
verb is in the accusative. 

Now analyze the following sentences, and parse all the 
nouns : 

Model. — " Thomas lost John's ball." 

Ball is a common noun, neuter gender, third person, 
singular number, and in the accusative case, because it is 
the direct object of lost. 



22 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Rule. — " The direct object of a transitive verb is in the 
accusative." 

EXERCISE. 

Animals drink water. John Thompson burns wood. 
Horses eat grass. Frost injures plants. Laziness brings 
poverty. Peter's dog bit Mary's cat. The fire destroyed 
Mr. Butler's store. The teacher heard the children's 
lesson. Robert found a turkey-hen's nest. Frederick 
made a pop-gun. The elephant killed his keeper. The 
doctor's servant killed a snake. The officer reads a news- 
paper. 



LESSON XV. 

Adjectives, 

When I say apple, I may mean any apple in the world. 
But when I say this apple, the meaning is limited or nar- 
rowed to a single apple. When I say sour apple, only one 
kind of apple is meant. These words, this and sour, are 
said to limit the noun apple. They are called Adjec- 
tives. 

An Adjective is a word added to a noun to limit its 
meaning. 

But while these words are both adjectives, there is a 
difference between them. Sour tells what kind of apple 
is meant, but this does not tell anything about the kind 
of apple meant. If I speak of a good boy, you know what 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 23 

sort of boy is meant ; but if I say one boy, you do not know 
anything about the kind of boy meant. Put with the 
noun tree an adjective which tells what kind of tree is 
meant. Put one with the noun man which limits without 
telling the kind of man. 

Hence we see that there are two kinds of adjectives. 
Those that tell the kind of thing meant are called 
Descriptive Adjectives. The others, which do 
not tell anything about the kind of thing, are called 
Definitive Adjectives. 

Descriptive Adjectives are those which limit the 
meaning of nouns, and tell what kind of thing is 
meant. 

Definitive Adjectives are those which limit the 
meaning of nouns, but do not tell what kind of thing 
is meant. 

The numerals one, hco, three, etc., and first, second, third, 
etc., are definitive adjectives. 

The words a or an and the are sometimes called Articles, 
but they are simply definitive adjectives. 

Put a definitive adjective before each of the following 
nouns : cat, man, book, road. 

Put a descriptive adjective before each of the following 
nouns : bo//, dog, tree, house, girl. 

Put both a definitive and a descriptive adjective before 
each of the nouns store, city, mountain. 



24 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XVI. 

Adjectives Limiting Nouns. 

Rule of Syntax. — Adjectives limit the meaning of 
nouns or form part of the predicate. 

Model. — " The good boy loves his father." 

The is a definitive adjective, and limits boy. 

Rule. — "Adjectives limit the meaning of nouns or form 
part of the predicate." 

Good is a descriptive adjective, and limits boy. 

Rule. — " Adjectives limit," etc. 

EXERCISE. 

This little girl saw a large horse. The farmer's oxen 
pull heavy loads. Caesar crossed a deep river. An old 
man found ten dollars. That chair-maker makes new 
chairs. These carpenters build high houses. Several 
other ladies came. The professor has many books. New 
hats please the boys. New dresses please the girls. Stu- 
dious scholars learn long lessons. The beautiful queen 
wrote the letter. 



LESSON XVII. 

Adjectives in the Predicate. 

Instead of putting the adjective with the noun, we may 
put it with another word to make the predicate. Instead 
of saying, " The sour apple" we may say, " The apple is 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ZO 

sour." Here apple is the subject, and is sour is the pred- 
icate. The adjective sour is said to form a part of the 
predicate. Hence the rule says, "Adjectives limit the 
meaning of nouns or form part of the predicate" 

The adjectives in the last lesson come under the first 
part of the rule ; they limit nouns. In the following sen- 
tences some of the adjectives form part of the predicate: 

Model. — Ripe peaches are good. 

Good is a descriptive adjective, and forms part of the 
predicate. 

Ride. — " Adjectives limit," etc. 

EXERCISE. 
John's dog is black. A camel is ugly. Many children 
are naughty. These pigs are muddy. The school-house 
looks new. Green grapes taste sour. The sick man seems 
better. * Some boys are mischievous. Those bad boys killed 
the old cat. A warm fire is pleasant. Mr. Bryant's house 
was large. Columbus had three ships. Napoleon Bona- 
parte commanded large armies. No stars were visible. 
A thick cloud hid the stars. The night was dark. Solo- 
mon's wisdom was great. 



LESSON XVIII. 
Pronouns. 

Suppose some one should begin to tell the story of 
George Washington and his hatchet in this way : 
" George Washington's father gave George Washington 

3 



26 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

a little hatchet. George Washington was much pleased 
with George Washington's hatchet, and George Washing- 
ton went about cutting with George Washington's hatchet 
everything within George Washington's reach." 

This would certainly be a very troublesome way of 
telling it. But, instead of using the nouns George Wash- 
ington and hatchet so frequently, he might use a little word 
in place of each of them every time except the first. 

The story would then read : 

" George Washington's father gave him a little hatchet. 
He was much pleased with it, and he went about cutting 
with it everything within his reach." 

Here we put he for George Washington when it is in the 
nominative, him when it is in the accusative, and his when 
it is in the genitive. We also use it in place of hatchet. 

These little words are called Pronouns. They save 
us the trouble of repeating the nouns so often. 

A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. 
There are two classes of Pronouns — Personal and 
Relative. 

For the present we shall study about the Personal Pro- 
nouns. 

As pronouns stand for nouns, they have Gender, Person, 
Number, and Case, and the Gender, Person, Number, and 
Case of a pronoun are the same as the Gender, Person, 
Number, and Case of the noun it stands for. 

There are five personal pronouns — 7, thou, he, she, 
and it. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 27 

J and thou are common gender, he is masculine, she 
is feminine, and it is neuter. 

I is of the first person, thou is of the second per- 
son, and he, she, and it are of the third person. 

The plural of I is we. 

The plural of thou is you. 

The plural of he, she, and it is they. 



LESSON XIX. 

Declension of I. 

All these pronouns have different forms for the differ- 
ent cases. "Giving these forms is called Declension. 





Declension of 


I. 






Singular. 




Plural. 


Nominative, 


I, 




we, 


Genitive, 


my or mine, 




our or ours, 


Dative, 


me, 




us, 


Accusative, . 


me, 




us, 


Vocative. 


• 







In parsing the pronouns we give the same rules as for 
nouns. 

Model. — I saw my father. 

J is a personal pronoun, first person, singular number, 
and in the nominative, because it is the subject of saw. 



28 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 



Rule. — " The subject of a finite verb is in the nomi- 
native." 

My is a personal pronoun, first person, singular number, 
and in the genitive, because it limits father. 

Rule. — " A noun (or prououn) which limits another 
noun meaning a different thing is in the genitive." 

EXERCISE. 

My book is new. My mother calls me. We passed ten 
houses. Our parents love us. I have many chickens. I 
finished my lessons. My sister helped me. Our lessons 
are easy. Our neighbors heard us. We were sick. 





LESSON XX. 


> 




Declension of Thou. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


Nominatii 


ie, thou, 


ye or you, 


Genitive, 


thy or thine, 


your or yours, 


Dative, 


thee, 


you, 


Accusativt 


J, thee, 


you, 


Vocative, 


thou ; 


ye or you. 



We generally use the plural of this pronoun, even when 
only one is meant. The singular is used in the Bible and 
in prayer. You must be parsed as plural in form, although 
it means only one. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 29 

The predicate often has more than one word in it, even 
if one is not an adjective, as in the following : 

EXERCISE. 

" Thou shalt honor thy father." No man doubts you. 
Your dog bit my cat. All your friends have visited you. 
Our parents have come. You have broken my knife. We 
have studied our lesson. God sees me. "I saw thee." 
My son obeys me. Your paper is white. 





LESSON XXI. 




Declension of He. 




Singular. Plural. 


Nominative, 


he, they, 


Genitive, 


his, their or theirs, 


Dative, 


him, them, 


Accusative, 


him, them, 


Vocative, 


• 



EXERCISE. 

They knew me. He is sick. His house is large. He 
wrote his name. I saw their pictures. They bought a 
hat. These men stopped him. I reproved them. They 
thanked me. Some men break the laws. Four boys had 
a fight. The teacher punished them. They cried. You 
heard them. 
3* 



30 



ELEMENT AEY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 





lesson : 


XXII. 






Declension 


of Site, 




Singular. 




Plural. 


Nominative, 


she, 




they, 


Genitive, 


her or hers, 




their or theirs, 


Dative, 


her, 




them, 


Accusative, 


her, 




them, 


Vocative, 


• 







EXERCISE. 

She loves her father. Her dress is pretty. Idle girls 
neglect their lessons. My new slate is broken. Mary's 
mother wants her. I called her. She heard me. 
Our mothers teach their children. "Thou knowest my 
thoughts." 





LESSON XXIII. 




Declension of It. 




Singular. Plural. 


Nominative, 


it, they, 


Genitive, 


its, their or theirs, 


Dative, 


it, them, 


Accusative, 


it, them, 


Vocative. 





You will notice that the plurals of he, she, and it are the 
same. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 61 

EXERCISE. 

I want my basket. It is gone. You have lost it. Your 
pen is found. Its point is broken. His boys found a 
bird's nest. They robbed it. The old bird was sorry. 
We have learned all the pronouns. 



LESSON XXIV. 

The Dative. 

Let us analyze the sentence, " John sent me a letter." 
John is the subject. Sent is the predicate. The subject 
is not limited. The predicate is limited by me, and also 
by letter, and letter- is limited by a. How would you parse 
me f Me is a personal pronoun, first person, singular num- 
ber. What case ? You look back to Lesson XIX., and 
you find that me is either the dative or the accusative. 
Is it the accusative? Is it the direct object of sent? Did 
John send me f To whom did he send me ? No, he sent 
a letter, and we might have said, " John sent a letter to 
me." Then it is not the direct object. It does not tell 
what he sent, but to whom he sent it. This is called the 
indirect object. It tells us to or for what or whom a thing 
is done. And this indirect object is in the dative case. 
Hence — 

Rule of Syntax. — The indirect object of a verb is in 
the dative. 

The dative, then, expresses that to or for which any- 
thing is done. 



32 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

You can almost always tell whether a noun or a pro- 
noun is in the dative by putting to or for before it without 
changing the sense. 

Now let us finish parsing me : 

Model. — John sent me a letter. 

Me is a personal pronoun, first person, singular number, 
and in the dative case,' the indirect object of sent. 

Rule. — " The indirect object of a verb is in the dative." 

EXERCISE. 

Robert gave May a book. Mr. Smith bought his little 
boy a gun. Your father sent me a beautiful book. Fred- 
erick made him a pop-gun. William brought his mother 
some water. You promised me a hat. 



LESSON XXV. 
Verbs. 

What is a sentence ? What must you have in every 
sentence ? What is the subject f What is the predicate f 
You say the predicate is that which is told or asked about 
the subject. The words which enable us to tell something 
or ask something are called Verbs. You cannot have 
a sentence without a verb. 

" I love my father." Does this tell anything ? What 
is the word that does the telling ? If you leave out that 
word, will you have a sentence ? The word love, then, is 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 33 

a verb. " My book is new." What is the word that does 
the telling here ? Think before you answer ; do not guess 
at it. If you leave out is, would anything be told ? Then 
is is a verb here. 

A Verb is a word which declares or affirms something. 

Sometimes when we wish to tell something that hap- 
pened in the past, we add eel to the verb : " I learn my 
lesson every day ;" " I learned my lesson last night." But 
sometimes when we wish to tell what is past, we simply 
change the form of the verb : " I know my lesson to-day ;" 
" I knew my lesson yesterday." 

Those verbs which add eel are called regular verbs. 
Those which do not add eel are called irregular verbs. 

Some^ verbs require a direct object after them to com- 
plete the meaning: "The boy sees (what?) a squirrel." 
These are called transitive verbs. 

Some do not require a direct object, but are complete 
without it : " The boy runs." These are called intransi- 
tive verbs. 

A transitive verb is one which requires an object 
after it to complete its meaning. 

An intransitive verb is one which does not require 
an object after it to complete its meaning. 

Now turn back to an exercise in some previous lesson, 
and point out the verbs, and tell whether they are regular 
or irregular, transitive or intransitive. 




34 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XXVI. 

Voice, Mood, Tense, Number, and Person. 

Verbs have two voices, called the Active Voice and 
the Passive Voice. 

They have three moods — the Indicative, the Sub- 
junctive, and the Imperative. 

In this book we shall study only the Indicative Mood. 

There are six tenses — Present, Past, Future, Present- 
Perfect, Past-Perfect, and Future- Perfect. 

After a while you must try to learn what all these mean. 
Now we will try to learn to know them when we see them. 

Verbs also have three persons and two numbers ; but we 
find out the person and number of a verb by knowing the 
person and number of the subject. 



LESSON XXVII. 

Conjugation. 

When we give the verb in all its moods, tenses, num- 
bers, and persons, we are said to conjugate the verb. Let 
us take the irregular intransitive verb to be, and learn two 
tenses of it. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Conjugation of the Verb TO BE. 

INDICATIVE MOOD. 



35 





PRESENT TENSE. 






Singular. 


Plural. 


1st Person, 


I am, 1. 


We are, 


2d 


Thou art, 2. 


You are, 


3d 


He is; 3. 

PAST TENSE. 


They are. 


1st Person, 


I was, 1. 


We were, 


2d 


Thou wast, 2. 


You were, 


3d 


He was ; 3. 


They were. 



LESSON XXVIII. 

Parsing the Verb. 

As we have to find out the number and person of the 
verb by knowing the number and person of its subject, 
we have the following 

Rule of Syntax. — The verb agrees with its subject 
in number and person. 

Model. — The boy is sick. 

Is is an irregular intransitive verb, indicative mood, 
present tense, third person singular, to agree with its sub- 
ject boy. 

Rule. — "The verb agrees with its subject in number 
and person." 



36 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

EXERCISE. 

I am tired. This girl is industrious. You were wrong. 
They are right. This lesson is difficult. Some sheep are 
black. 



LESSON XXIX. 

FUTURE TENSE (PREDICTIVE). 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall be, 1. We shall be, 

2. Thou wilt be, 2. You will be, 

3. He will be ; 3. They will be. 

FUTURE TENSE (PROMISSIVE). 

1. I will be, 1. We will be, 

2. Thou shalt be, 2. You shall be, 

3. He shall be; 3. They shall be. 

EXERCISE. 

The weather will be cold. The horses were blind. I 
will be ready. They shall be ready. 



LESSON XXX. 

PRESENT-PERFECT TEXSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been, 1. We have been, 

2. Thou hast been, 2. You have been, 

3. He has been ; 3. They have been. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 37 

PAST-PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had been, 1. We had been, 

2. Thou hadst been, 2. You had been, 

3. He had been; 3. They had been. 

EXERCISE. 
I was sleepy. You will be sick. He had been rich. 
The flies have been numerous. The farmer's oxen are 
large. The rains have been heavy. These roads will be 
muddy. My lessons had been easy. 



LESSON XXXI. 

FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE (PREDICTIVE). 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have been, 1. We shall have been, 

2. Thou wilt have been, 2. You will have been, 

3. He will have been ; 3. They will have been. 

FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE (pROMISSIVE). 

1. I will have been, 1. We will have been, 

2. Thou stialt have been, 2. You shall have been, 

3. He shall have been ; 3. They shall have been. 



LESSON XXXII. 

Predicate Nominative. 

Sometimes, instead of having an adjective to form part 
of the predicate, we have a noun. If this noun means the 
same thing as the subject, it is in the nominative case, and 
is called the predicate nominative. 
4 



38 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

Rule of Syntax. — A noun in the predicate denoting 
the same thing as the subject is in the nominative, and 
is called the predicate nominative. 

Model. — JoJm is a boy. 

John is the subject. Is boy is the predicate. Boy in 
the predicate is limited by a. 

Boy is a common noun, masculine gender, third person, 
singular number, and in the nominative case, predicate 
nominative. 

Rule. — " A noun in the predicate," etc. 

EXERCISE. 

Washington was President. Napoleon was a great 
general. New York is a large city. All boys will be 
men. Good boys will be good men. 



LESSON XXXIII. 
Conjugation of the Verb TO LOVE. 

ACTIVE VOICE. 

INDICATIVE MOOD. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I love, 1. We love, 

2. Thou lovest, 2. You love, 

3. He loves; 3. They love. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 39 



1. 

2. 
3. 


PAST TEXSE. 

Singular. Plural. 
I loved, 1. We loved, 
Thou lovedst, 2. You loved, 
He loved ; 3. They loved. 


1. 

2. 

3. 


FUTURE TEXSE ( PREDICTIVE). 

I shall love, 1. We shall love, 
Thou wilt love, 2. You will love, 
He will love ; 3. They will love. 


1. 

2. 

3. 


FUTURE TEXSE (PROMISSIVE). 

I will love, 1. We will love, 
Thou shalt love, 2. You shall love, 
He shall love; 3. They shall love. 



PRESEXT-PEEFECT TEXSE. 

1. I have loved, 1. We have loved, 

2. Thou hast loved, 2. You have loved, 

3. He has loved; 3. They have loved. 

PAST-PERFECT TEXSE. 

1. I had loved, 1. We had loved, 

2. Thou hadst loved, 2. You had loved, 

3. He had loved; 3. They had loved. 

FUTURE-PERFECT TEXSE (PREDICTIVE). 

1. I shall have loved, 1. We shall have loved, 

2. Thou wilt have loved, 2. You will have loved, 

3. He will have loved ; 3. They will have loved. 

FUTURE-PERFECT TEXSE (PROMISSIVE). 

1. I will have loved, 1. We will have loved, 

2. Thou shalt have loved, 2. You shall have loved, 

3. He shall have loved ; 3. They shall have loved. 

EXERCISE. 
These boys love their play. I loved my little sister. 
Good girls will love their books. You shall love your 
mother. \ 



40 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XXXIV. 

You may now conjugate the verb to walk, just as you 
conjugated the verb to love. I will give the first person of 
each tense, and you may give the rest : 

Present. I walk. 

Past. I walked. 

Future Predictive. I shall walk. 

Future Promissive. I will walk. 

Present- Perfect. I have walked. 

Past- Perfect. I had walked. 

Future- Perfect. i J sha11 have walked > 
( I will have walked. 

In the same way conjugate the verb to see: 
I see, I saw, I shall see, I will see, I have seen, I had 
seen, I shall have seen, I will have seen. 

Conjugate also the verbs to go, to read, to play. 



LESSON XXXV. 

You can now conjugate any verb in the active voice, 
indicative mood. 

EXERCISE. 

My little brother sees a bird. I have read this book. 
Those faithful students had learned their lessons. John 
has written a long letter. You will hear the music. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 41 

LESSON XXXVI. 

Passive Voice, 

The Passive Voice is made up of the verb to be, which 
you have already learned, and the perfect participle of a 
transitive verb. In regular verbs this participle ends in 
ed, but in irregular verbs it is variously formed. 

Conjugation of the Verb TO LOVE. 

PASSIVE VOICE. 

INDICATIVE MOOD. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I am loved, 1. We are loved, 

2. Thou art loved, 2. You are loved, 

3. He is loved; 3. They are loved. 

PAST TENSE. 

1. I was loved, 1. We were loved, 

2. Thou wast loved, 2. You were loved, 

3. He was loved ; 3. They were loved. 

FUTURE TENSE ( PREDICTIVE). 

1. I shall be loved, 1. We shall be loved, 

2. Thou wilt be loved, 2. You will be loved, 

3. He will be loved ; . 3. They will be loved. 

FUTURE TENSE (PROMISSIVE). 

1. I will be loved, 1. We will be loved, 

2. Thou shalt be loved, 2. You shall be loved, 

3. He shall be loved; 3. They shall be loved. 

4* 



42 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

PRESENT-PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been loved, 1. We have been loved, 

2. Thou hast been loved, 2. You have been loved, 

3. He has been loved ; 3. They have been loved 

PAST-PERFECT TENSE. 

1. I had been loved, 1. We had been loved, 

2. Thou hadst been loved, 2. You had been loved, 

3. He had been loved ; 3. They had been loved. 

FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE (PREDICTIVE). 

1. I shall have been loved, 1. We shall have been loved, 

2. Thou wilt have been loved, 2. You will have been loved, 

3. He will have been loved ; 3. They will have been loved, 

FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE (PROMISSIVE). 

1. I will have been loved, 1. We will have been loved, 

2. Thou shalt have been loved, 2. You shall have been loved, 

3. He shall have been loved ; 3. They shall have been loved. 

In the same way conjugate the verb to see in the pas- 
sive voice. 

I am seen, I was seen, I shall be seen, I will be seen, I 
have been seen, I had been seen, I shall have been seen, 
I will have been seen. 



LESSON XXXVII. 

Transitive verbs are used in the passive voice, but 
intransitive verbs are not. In parsing transitive verbs 
you mention the voice before the mood. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 43 

EXERCISE. 

The water is frozen. The door has been opened. All 
the crops will be injured. My pencil had been lost. This 
little girl found it. She is a good little girl. She shall 
be paid. All your good deeds will be remembered. All 
good boys will obey their parents. My knife is broken. 
You broke it. You will be punished. The tree has fallen. 
The day has come. Alfred Williams will gain the prize. 
He is a studious boy. 



LESSON XXXVIII. 

The Progressive Form. 

Instead of the Active Voice of the verb, we sometimes 
use the verb to he, followed by a participle ending in ing. 
Instead of saying I love, we say I am loving. For he 
loved, we say he was loving. 

Now conjugate the verb to love in the Progressive Form : 

I am loving, I was loving, I shall be loving, I will be 
loving, I have been loving, I had been loving, I shall have 
been loving, I will have been loving. 

EXERCISE. 

The carpenters are building the house. \Ve were watch- 
ing them. They had been making the doors. The floor 
was laid. It will be finished. They have been employ- 
ing other laborers. Their former laborers are having. 



44 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XXXIX. 

Emphatic Form. — Interrogative Form. 

"When we wish to assert anything very positively in 
the Present and Past Tenses, we use the verb do before 
the other verb. In the other tenses we simply speak the 
auxiliary with a little more force or emphasis. 



EMPHATIC FOEM. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I do love, 1. We do love, 

2. Thou dost love, 2. You do love, 

3. He does love; 3. They do love. 

PAST TENSE. 

1. I did love, 1. We did love, 

2. Thou didst love, 2. You did love, 

3. He did love; 3. They did love. 

FUTURE TENSE ( PREDICTIVE). 

I shall love, 

Thou wilt love, etc. 

FUTURE TENSE (PROMISSIVE). 

I will love, 

Thou shall love, etc. 

PRESENT-PERFECT TENSE. 

I have loved, etc. 

PAST-PERFECT TENSE. 

I had loved, etc. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 45 

FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE. 

I shall have loved, etc. 
I will have loved, etc. 

In all the tenses, except the present and the past, we 
simply emphasize the first auxiliary. 

In asking a question we put the subject after the first 
auxiliary, using in the present and past tenses the same 
words as in the Emphatic Form. 

INTERROGATIVE FOEM. 
Present. Do I love ? 

Past Did I love? 

f Shall I love? 
Future. j Will I love? 

Present- Perfect. Have I loved? 

Past-Perfect. Had I loved? 

(Shall I have loved? 
Future- Perfect. { wm j haye loyed ? 

In the Passive Voice we do the same thing, putting the 
subject after the first auxiliary. 



EXERCISE. 

Do you love your mother? I do love her. Is your 
book new ? Has the work been finished ? You did break 
my knife. Have those boys completed their lessons ? I 
did see your father. Is the snow falling ? It has ceased. 
Is it deep? They do seem happy. They have earned 
some money. 



46 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XL. 

Adverbs. 

In the sentence, " This rose smells very sweet" we see 
that the adjective sweet is limited by very. When I say, 
"The birds are singing sweetly" the verb are singing is 
limited by sweetly. And this word sweetly may itself be 
limited by very : " The birds are singing very sweetly." 

The word very in the first sentence is a limiting word, 
but it is not an» adjective, for it does not limit a noun, but 
an adjective. Nor can sweetly be an adjective, for it limits 
a verb. And in the last sentence very does not limit a 
noun. 

These words are called Adverbs. They limit verbs, 
adjectives, and other adverbs. 

An Adverb is a word which limits a verb, an ad- 
jective, or another adverb. 

In parsing adverbs you simply tell what they are, what 
they limit, and give the following 

Rule of Syntax. — Adverbs limit verbs, adjectives, 
and other adverbs. 

Model. — " The birds are singing very sweetly." 

Very is an adverb, and limits sweetly. 

Ride. — "Adverbs limit verbs, adjectives, and other 
adverbs." 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 47 

EXERCISE. 

The snow is melting rapidly. We sometimes know our 
lessons. Good boys always love their parents. My new 
book is very pretty. My father gave me much good ad- 
vice. I have not always remembered it. Children often 
pronounce words improperly. My cousin has visited me 
lately. John writes very well. The farmer's dog sud- 
denly barked. I was very much frightened. He is per- 
fectly harmless. He has never bitten anybody. I will 
hear your lesson now. You have learned it thoroughly. 
You have studied faithfully. You will now have recess. 



LESSON XLI. 

Prepositions. — Adjuncts. 

Analyze the sentence, " The man in the moon looks 
at us." 

You say that man is limited by in the moon, and looks 
is limited by at us. Now, in the moon limits a noun, but 
it is not an adjective. An adjective is a single word, but 
this is three words. At us limits a verb, but it is not an 
adverb. These two limiters are called Adjuncts. They 
may limit both nouns and verbs, and also adjectives. Some- 
times they limit adverbs. 

You notice that the first one of these adjuncts, in the 
moon, has a noun for its principal word, and a little word, 
in, to begin it. The other adjunct, at us, has a personal 



48 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

pronoun for its principal word, and a little word, at, before 
it. These little words, which introduce adjuncts, are called 
Prepositions. 

I will give you a list of the prepositions, which you 
must study until you will know one of them whenever 
you see it : 

Prepositions. — Aboard, about, above, across, after, 
against, along, amid, among, around, at, athwart, before, 
behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, betwixt, 
beyond, by, doivn, ere, for, from, in, into, of, off, on, over, 
round, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, towards, 
under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, 
ivithout. 

Some other words, as but, except, save, may perhaps be 
as well parsed as prepositioDS in some cases, though they 
are really verbs in the imperative mood. 

In parsing adjuncts, use the following 

Bide of Syntax. — An Adjunct limits a noun, an 
adjective, or a verb. 

The noun or pronoun following the preposition, and 
forming the principal word of the adjunct, is always in 
the accusative case, according to the following 

Rule of Syntax. — The word following a preposition 
is in the accusative. 

Model. — " The man in the moon looks at us." 
K In the moon is an adjunct, and limits man. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 49 

Rule. — " An adjunct limits/' etc. 

Moon is a common noun, neuter gender, third person 
singular, and in the accusative case after the preposition 
in. 

Ride. — "The word following a preposition is in the 
accusative." 

EXERCISE. 

Henry lives on the hill. A man of honor will never 
forsake his friends. The bees gather honey from the 
flowers. Thomas measures John's corn in Alfred's half- 
bushel. The brother of Samuel Simpson came to town. 
The birds sing in the morning. The buds of the trees 
are swelling in the warm rays of the sun. The monkey 
climbed up the wall. The house of Mr. Thompson was 
carried away by the river. The city of London is situated* 
in England. Lions are found in Africa. The winds will 
come from the distant south. " I bring fresh showers for 
the thirsty flowers." He sat on the steps of his house. 
Boston is the capital of Massachusetts. I have been here 
since sunrise. The President left the city of "Washington 
on Monday. " I shall be queen of the May." The man 
without hands writes with his toes. The hills are covered 
with a carpet of green in summer. In winter a covering 
of snow frequently shrouds the earth. We shall have 
pleasant walks with our friends. We shall seek the early 
fruits in the sunny valleys. This letter to your father is 
written very neatly. I am well pleased with your prog- 
ress. You have learned very rapidly. Peter found six 
eggs in the nest under the house. He carried them into 
the house. 

5 D 



50 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XLII. 

Adjectives used as Nouns. 

Sometimes the noun, which an adjective limits is 
omitted. The adjective then takes its place, and is said 
to be used as a noun. When Christ said, " Blessed are 
the meek," he meant, "The meek people are blessed." 
The adjective meek limits the noun people understood. 
But as the noun is omitted, we say meek is an adjective 
used as a noun. 

Model. — "Blessed are the meek" 

Meek is an adjective used as a noun, common gender, 
third person, plural number, and in the nominative case, 
because it is the subject of are blessed. 

Ride. — " The subject," etc. 

EXERCISE. 

" The Lord knows the way of the righteous." " The 
way of the ungodly shall perish." Fortune favors the 
brave. The good are happy. Some of the boys were at 
play. Others were standing by the fire. One of the two 
men went along the road. The other turned down the 
lane. " The righteous shall be in everlasting remem- 
brance." How far did you go ? I went to the gate. Did 
you not go across the creek ? I did not take one step be- 
yond the gate. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 51 

LESSON XLTH. 

Compound Personal Pronouns. 

The noun self, or its plural selves, is often added to 
some form of the personal pronouns, and the words thus 
formed are called Compound Personal Pro- 
nouns. Sometimes it is added to the genitive, and 
sometimes to the accusative. The following are the com- 
pound personal pronouns : myself, ourselves, thyself, your- 
self (when it means only one), yourselves, himself, herself, 
itself, themselves. They are used in the nominative, dative, 
and accusative cases. After telling what they are, they 
are parsed as the simple personal pronouns. 

EXERCISE. 

Boys often hurt themselves at their play. The student 
allowed himself no rest from his studies. He will soon 
injure himself by his constant labor. " Christ pleased 
not himself." You are robbing others for the benefit of 
yourself. My faithfulness to my promise will bring loss 
to myself. You have shielded yourselves from blame. 
She came by herself. 



LESSON XLIV. 

Apposition. 

We have already seen that if one noun limits another 
noun meaning a different thing, the limiting noun is in the 
genitive. But sometimes one noun limits another noun 



52 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

meaning the same thing. "Simon, the tanner, lived at 
Joppa." Here the noun tanner limits Simon, to show 
which Simon is meant, and the two nouns mean the same 
thing. When one noun limits another noun meaning the 
same thing, the limiting noun is said to be in apposition 
with the other, or more commonly the two nouns are said 
to be in apposition. When two nouns are in apposition 
they have the same case. Hence — 

Rule of Syntax. — Nouns in apposition agree in case. 

Model. — " Simon, the tanner, lived at Joppa." 

Tanner is a common noun, masculine gender, third per- 
son, singular number, and in the nominative case to agree 
witli Simon. 

Mule. — " Nouns in apposition agree in case." 

EXERCISE. 
Solomon, the wise man, was the son of David the king. 
Mr. Andrews, the farmer, paid Mr. Johnson, the watch- 
maker, twenty dollars for a watch. " I, the governor, do 
publish this proclamation." Louisville, the largest city 
in Kentucky, is located on the Ohio, a branch of the Mis- 
sissippi. Mary, Queen of Scots, was educated in France, 
the native country of her first husband. 



LESSON XLV. 
Conjunctions, 

In all our exercises thus far we have had a single word 
for the subject. But sometimes we have two subjects joined 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 53 

together by a little connecting word. James and John 
ivill go. Here the assertion is made about both James 
and John. It takes both words to form the subject. 
The two words are connected by the word and. These 
connecting words are called Conjunctions. They 
connect nouns as subject or object, or they connect a 
noun and a pronoun, or pronouns, or adjectives, or verbs, 
or adverbs, or adjuncts. They are also used to connect 
two sentences ; as, Mary went to school and Jane stayed 
at home. The most common conjunctions are and, or, but. 
There are a great many others, of which we shall learn 
after a while. In parsing a conjunction you simply tell 
what it is and what it connects. 

When a sentence has two or more words connected by 
a conjunction for its subject, it is said to have a compound 
subject. If these two are spoken of together, as James 
and John in the above sentence, the predicate- must be 
plural. But if only one of them is spoken of, it is sin- 
gular. When the parts of a compound subject are of 
different persons, remember that I (or we) and any other 
person may be called we ; hence, if I or toe is used the 
verb will be in the first person. But thou or you and 
another person may together be called you. So here the 
verb will be in the second person. 

EXERCISE. 
Samuel and I saw the animals in the cages. Horses 
eat hay and corn. He and I were there. This good ami 
kind father gives his children many presents! It rained 
and snowed. The soldiers fought well and bravely. You 
or I broke the plate. The horse is not white, but black. 
This lady is beautiful and intelligent. 



54 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON XLVI. 

Interjections, — The Vocative. 

We have now studied about all the Parts of Speech 
except one, and about all the cases except one. Lastly, we 
have the Interjections. They are sometimes called 
Exclamations. They are the words which we use when we 
are surprised, hurt, grieved, or pleased, or when we have 
some other sudden feeling. 

The word vocative means calling. A noun is said to be 
in the vocative case when we call a person or use his 
name in speaking to him. 

Neither the interjection nor the vocative has any con- 
nection with the sentence. In analyzing we omit them, 
but we mention them in parsing. 

Rule of Syntax. — The Vocative is used when a per- 
son is addressed. 

Model. — " Oh ! brother, you have broken my doll." 

Oh is an interjection. 

Brother is a common noun, masculine gender, second 
person, singular number, and in the vocative case. 

Rule. — " The vocative is used," etc. 

EXERCISE. 
Oh, my head aches ! " Alas, master ! it was borrowed !" 
Oscar, you are a bad boy. Lo ! the sun is setting. Hur- 
rah ! they have gained the victory. Hark ! I hear a 
sound. Boy, will you show me the way? 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 55 



ADDITIONAL EXERCISES. 



LESSON XLVII. , 

The Old Man at the Castle. 

A tall, venerable, old man approached the gate of a 
castle in England. His locks were white, his steps were 
feeble, and he held a palm-branch in his hand. His name 
was Wilhelm Zeigler. He was a German traveller. A 
shaggy little dog accompanied him. The dog's name was 
Ponto. The old man knocked at the castle-gate. The 
gate-keeper gave him admittance, and he was brought 
before the owner of the castle. The dog went too. The 
castle belonged to Lord Littleton. The old man had spent 
all his money, and his hat had been stolen. Lord Little- 
ton gave him another hat and some money. He re- 
mained at the castle until morning. After supper he 
related many interesting incidents of his travels. All 
the company were greatly amused. On the morrow he 
joyfully went on his way. 



LESSON XLVIII. 

Geography. 

"Geography is a description of the surface of the 
earth." The surface of the earth is the outside part. It 
is composed of land and water. The water covers about 



56 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

three-fourths of the earth. The land is about one-fourth 
of the surface of the earth. Plants and animals live on 
the land, and fishes live in the sea. Lions, tigers, and 
monkeys are found in Africa ; elephants and camels and 
many other animals live in Asia ; and in America and 
Europe we find' horses, cows, sheep, dogs, and many others. 
Men live almost everywhere. Some animals eat grass, 
some live on flesh, and others eat both. 

The Mississippi is the longest river in North America ; 
the Amazon is the longest in South America ; and the 
Kile is the longest river in the world. The last is in 
Africa. 



LESSON XLIX. 

Charity Dove, 

She is Charity Dove, — that is her name ; 
She is little, and ugly, and thin, and lame, 
But always, always, you see her the same. 

She is good, and gentle, and true, and kind, 
And nowhere else in the world will you find 
A little maiden more to your mind. 

She helps her mother from morn to night, 
She builds the fire, she tends the light, 
She rubs the fender and keeps it bright. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 57 

Sometimes she hears the baby's cries, 

And she plays with her then, and her tearful eyes 

Grow bright with mirth, and her sorrow flies. 

And she plays with little Martin too, 

With the yellow hair, and the eyes of blue, 

And the lips with the white teeth shining through. 

Oft he is tired and wishes for rest ; 
She makes him then in her lap a nest, 
And siugs him a song, her very best. 

She gives him his breakfast and dinner and tea, 
And a drink of water ; and often you'll see 
At play in the yard these children three ; 

For she loves him and mother and Baby Bell : 
The amount of her love she will never tell. 
Do you love your mother and babies as well ? 

Such is little Charity Dove ; 

In her heart she loves the God above, 

And he is to her a God of love. 

Orphan's Friend (slightly altered). 



LESSON L. 

Genius. 

A brilliant article or poem is not necessarily " dashed 
off." This is a prevalent misconception of tyros. John- 
son wrote " Easselas " in a week ; Byron spent thirteen 



58 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

days over "The Corsair;" Scott spent scarcely double that 
time in the composition of a volume of " Waverley ;" and 
Burns composed " Tarn O'Shanter" between dinner and 
tea. But before the accomplishment of these tasks John- 
son had composed and published volumes ; Scott had edited 
the Border Ballads, the works of Swift and Dryden, and 
had written the greatest of his poems ; Byron had already 
spent the best of his years in the constant practice of his 
pen ; and Burns, by long experience in the art, had be- 
come an expert in verse-making. All these men had super- 
eminent genius, but they did not attain to this degree of 
literary celebrity in a moment. They did not jump into 
a suit of new clothes. It was in each case the result of 
the unwearied practice of their art for years. The genius 
of Campbell ripened early, and his first work was his 
best; but this is very rare even in the ranks of genius. 
The rule in these ranks has rather been on the side of 
unmitigated labor in the correction and finishing of their 
compositions. Many of them wrote and rewrote over and 
over again the first of their productions, and yet even 
then, in the opinion of these writers themselves, there was 
room for further improvement. This, then, is the rule of 
great authors for the attainment of literary excellence. 
They spare no labor in perfecting and polishing, and they 
leave unimproved no word, sentence, or passage suscep- 
tible of improvement. Attention to this will save many 
young writers some of their bitterest disappointments. 
Adapted from Chambers* Journal. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 59 

LESSON LI. 

The Cherokee Alphabet. 

One of the most extraordinary events in the history 
of mind and literature occurred among the Cherokees in 
1825. This was the invention of an alphabet by George 
Guess, a full-blooded and wholly uneducated Cherokee. " 
From some of his countrymen he heard of the white 
people's "paper talk." The white people put down a 
talk on paper, and it stayed there and was carried to a 
great distance. Guess took a large flat stone and marked 
down a character for each word. The Iudians laughed 
at him ; but, under pretence of hunting, he went to the 
woods, and there made his marks from clay to day. The 
number of marks soon overburdened his memory. Then 
he tried a mark for each sound. Every syllable in the 
Cherokee language is a simple vowel or a vowel, with a 
consonant. There are six vowels and twelve consonants; 
consequently, there are seventy-two syllables. By modi- 
fications a few other syllables are produced, and the num- 
ber reaches eighty-five. For each of these sounds he in- 
vented a character. Thus he produced a perfect phonic 
alphabet. A Cherokee learns the names of the characters 
of the several sounds in the language, and then he is a 
perfect reader. Guess had borne all the ridicule of his 
friends with the most unwearied patience. Now he pro- 
duced his alphabet and read to the people. Great was 
their astonishment. He had made the "paper talk." 
Numbers came to him for instruction, and now thousands 
of the Cherokees read their own language. 

John M. Peak. 



60 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

LESSON LII. 

The Gale. 

I shall never forget my first gale on the ocean. We 
were crossing the Atlantic. At sunset there was a heavy 
bank of clouds in the west, and soon it rose very rapidly. 
The fall of the barometer was ten degrees in half an hour. 
Immediately, by order of the captain, sail was shortened. 
The crew worked smartly, for they felt the need of prep- 
aration. The barometer fell and the wind rose. There 
were no flaws, no sudden puffs, no spasms, but a gradual, 
rapid increase of force. Every minute it blew harder. 
The waves rose with the wind. Our ship labored hard 
at first, and was put before it ; but then they turned her 
broadside to the blast, and she lay for nearly an hour 
almost on her broadside. The three close-reefed topsails 
were torn from the yards. The top-gallant masts went 
next. The crew lashed themselves to the rigging, and 
every one thought of his personal safety. The captain 
could scarcely be heard by those at his elbow. The night 
was very dark, but the foam of the sea cast a strange 
lurid light upon the ship's deck. Huge mountains of 
snowy foam threatened us every moment. Down we 
went into terrible depths of blackness, and then we rose 
again upon the highest peaks of the mountain waves. 
Still the wind increased. The sound was similar to in- 
cessant claps of thunder. A roar of artillery is a feeble 
comparison. Breathing became difficult. Many of the 
ropes had been broken, and some remnants of the sails 
still clung to the yards. These snapped and cracked, and 
reminded one of millions of coach-whips. In the begin- 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 61 

ning I had prudently lashed myself to a ring-bolt on the 
weather side of the deck, and there I sat secure and en- 
joyed the terrible exhibition. This was a south wester. 
It was to me a novel affair. I wished for nothing more 
in the way of wind. 

Harry Franco. 



LESSON OIL 

TJie Missionaries, 

Ox the 30th of September, in 1816, a public meeting 
of great interest was held in the city of London. An 
immense congregation filled the large church. It was 
no festival day ; no banners were borne aloft, no strains 
of music burst upon the ear ; yet the aisles and galleries 
of the spacious building were thronged. Mne young men 
stood forth to receive commissions ; but they are not officers 
of a martial host ; they will not lead men to fields of car- 
nage and blood ; they will not mingle in the work of death. 
They are soldiers of the Cross ; they are missionaries of 
the Gospel ; they will triumph under the banner of the 
Prince of Peace. They follow the great apostle of the 
Gentiles, and each one adopts his motto : they glory only 
in the cross of Christ. A Christian minister steps forth 
and places in the hands of each a copy of the Holy Bible ; 
this is their guide, their shield, their weapon ; this con- 
tains the promise of the Son of God, " Lo ! I am with 
you alway." They need nothing more. Objects dear to 
their hearts by many happy recollections have been visited 



62 ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 

for the last time. That holy chain of kindred affection 
is composed of a thousand links, and each link is entwined 
by a wreath of life's sweetest flowers, but it is snapped 
asunder. They are bidding farewell to friends and com- 
panions. Yet the missionary endures all this for the 
cause of his Divine Master. 

J. L. de Grav). 



LESSON LIV. 

Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

The breaking waves dashed high 
On a stern and rock-bound coast, 

And the woods against a stormy sky 
Their giant branches tossed ; 

And the heavy night hung dark 

The hills and waters o'er ; 
A band of exiles moored their bark 

On the wild New England shore. 

Amidst the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard, and the sea ; 

And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
To the anthem of the free. 

The ocean eagle soared 

From his nest by the white wave's foam, 
And the rocking pines of the forest roared : 

This was their welcome home. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 63 

There were men with hoary hair 

Amidst that pilgrim band ; 
Why did they come ? why wander there, 

Away from their childhood's land ? 

There was woman's fearless eye : 

It was lit by deep love's truth ; 
There was manhood's brow, serenely high, 

And the fiery heart of youth. 

What sought they thus afar ? 

Bright jewels of the mine ? 
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war ? 

They sought a faith's pure shrine. 

Mrs. Hemans. 



THE END. 



